Ladies and gentlemen, what would we do without Joe Biden. The other day, he addressed the issue of an assault weapons ban by saying that he advises his wife, while living in their “secluded” home, to defend herself with a shotgun. If she hears strange noises, she should empty both barrels into the air to scare them off.
Problem:
A sergeant with the Wilmington, Del., police department explained to U.S. News that city residents are not allowed to fire guns on their property.
The sergeant, who preferred not to be identified, said that Wilmington residents are also not allowed to shoot trespassers. “On your property you can’t just shoot someone,” he said. “You have to really feel that your life is being threatened.”
Defense attorney John Garey—a former Delaware deputy attorney general—agreed, and added that several criminal charges might result if Jill Biden took her husband’s advice.
“In Delaware you have to be in fear of your life to use deadly force,” Garey said. “There’s nothing based on his scenario alone” indicating a reason to fear imminent death, he noted.
Garey said that under Biden’s scenario, Jill Biden could be charged with aggravated menacing, a felony, and reckless endangering in the first degree.
Other states have similar or even more stringent restrictions on firing weapons as warning shots because blasting off in random directions is dangerous. And, as it happens, more people are killed by shotguns every year than are killed by assault weapons.
I post this to make a semi-serious point: even a lot of people who are supposed to know this stuff have no idea how guns work or what the gun laws are in their own state. This isn’t just some random Democrat. This is man who headed up the Administration’s gun control proposals.
I suspect that Joe was talking out of his ass, since his house is not, in fact, very isolated (the linked articles shows another house within 100 feet and there’s a school nearby). But this may be one of those times when what came out of Joe’s ass is more informative than what came out of his mouth.
15 comments
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Biggie G says:
February 22, 2013 10:46 am at 10:46 am (UTC -4)
I think that President Obama took Dave Chapelle’s advice but went one better than a Mexican VP.
InsipiD says:
February 22, 2013 4:21 pm at 4:21 pm (UTC -4)
That would be all of the time, including when he’s having a massive diarrhea shit. That’s not quite accurate, though. What Biden says is always informative, it’s just not usually what he thinks he’s informing you of. I’m glad that Biden doesn’t make sense to me. I take it as a sign of my own intelligence.
Further, Biden’s defense plan for his wife (which has been repeated now on more than one occasion) substitutes the female-unfriendly double barrel 12 gauge instead of the very female friendly AR-15. The AR-15 is born out of the US Army’s early 80s plans for a more female friendly weapon. A double barrel 12 gauge is awkward to reload, holds only two shots, and delivers man-sized recoil. As shotguns go, the pump-action would be the better one for the home, and explains the huge popularity of the Mossberg 500. Easier to load, more than two shots, and not endorsed by Biden. Also, if the threat was real and you just fired both of your shots at the bats in the trees outside, your awkwardly adrenaline-soaked slow reload in the dark is going to take so long that the real bad guy could actually get to you. Not only are you now undefended, but you’re a felon. Brilliant, Joe.
Honestly, a .38 special or 9mm is probably most appropriate for home defense. I have one of each, among others.
Tool says:
February 22, 2013 6:13 pm at 6:13 pm (UTC -4)
Actually, AR-15 and its variants have been in military service since 1963. Female ergonomics had nothing to do with the original design. Although admittedly, the AR-15 is a weapon far more suited for females than any 12 gauge.
Mississippi Yankee says:
February 22, 2013 6:23 pm at 6:23 pm (UTC -4)
With the rising cost of ammunition since December a warning shot doesn’t even make good economic sense today.
Oh and if I’m not mistaken the Secret Service assigned to the Biden household live in separate quarters which Joe and Jill charge and collect rent. From the govt not the agents.
InsipiD says:
February 22, 2013 6:57 pm at 6:57 pm (UTC -4)
My bad. I thought that the tiny round was designed first and then the M16/AR15 designed around it during the 80s, all trying to be female friendly. I guess that I was off by about 20 years. I only mentioned it because it seems to have become such a lightning rod about this issue.
Thrill says:
February 22, 2013 7:17 pm at 7:17 pm (UTC -4)
Speaking of the Biden’s personal safety measures, I often wonder if Biden has one agent on his Secret Service detail whose job it is to carry scissors and other sharp objects for him in order to prevent him from hurting himself and others.
Mississippi Yankee says:
February 22, 2013 7:32 pm at 7:32 pm (UTC -4)
Hope n’ Change is a terrific political cartoon that comes out 3 times a week. Today’s hits this topic perfectly
Shooting his mouth off
Hal_10000 says:
February 22, 2013 8:23 pm at 8:23 pm (UTC -4)
Love it, MY!
Rick Macherat says:
February 23, 2013 3:53 am at 3:53 am (UTC -4)
Any Republican official, and even a some Democrats, would have been skewered mercilessly over an idiotic comment like this. It is just one more item in the file, “We are not the people we were before 911.”
Seattle Outcast says:
February 23, 2013 2:39 pm at 2:39 pm (UTC -4)
In Biden’s defense, there are so many laws on the books any more that the average citizen breaks several of them unknowinly every day, and the average person is likely facing felony charges if a cop decided to follow them around for a year and the local prosecutor was bored/running for re-election.
The advice to use a shotgun for home defense is only half what the average person needs to know. They should also be using birdshot – something the Marine Corp discovered in WW2 (Pacific Theater) as having the best record for putting people down and not having to later shoot them again.
Section8 says:
February 23, 2013 3:52 pm at 3:52 pm (UTC -4)
Or she could just call for the Secret Service agents that already guard the home. He’d just full of crap with his story. Then again, can you trust the agents they assign to you?
Xetrov says:
February 23, 2013 10:45 pm at 10:45 pm (UTC -4)
WTH, Testing. Testing. Tried posting twice, but nothing went up.
Xetrov says:
February 23, 2013 10:55 pm at 10:55 pm (UTC -4)
Let’s try this again -
Bloody RTFLC marked my post as spam. Apparently it doesn’t like the link I’m putting in.
http://www.the box o truth.com/docs/bot3_2.htm. Remove the spaces. They talk about Birdshot being a terrible defensive load, and have the tests to back it up. Awesome website for info on bullet penetration testing.
CM says:
February 24, 2013 12:36 am at 12:36 am (UTC -4)
“Why doesn’t it do that to all of CM’s posts? The world is upside down”
HARLEY says:
February 24, 2013 2:05 am at 2:05 am (UTC -4)
IF she has to CALL them, then they are not doing their job. she is after all the 2nd most protected woman in this nation.
IT is…. a very clsoe friendof mine took a 20 gauge full of #7′s to the chest. he walked a full block before he collapsed….. A lot of his survival had to do withthe fact that the compression of the shot against the ribs, gave them no where to go. oh and that fact he was build like a brick shithouse.
As for Bidens suggestion, discharging your only 2 defensive rounds is not a good idea, the intruder now knows, that you need to reload. and as the Fed gov has sent out information to schools and such……. if there is a active shooter nearby, wait to rush him, when he reloads.